NICOSIA Ñ Lebanon has obtained custody of a leading Palestinian
militant linked to Al Qaida.
Palestinian groups agreed to capture and transfer the militant, Badiyah
Hamadeh and three other suspected assailants who had been hiding in the Ein
Hilwe camp. The groups agreed to surrender the 25-year-old Hamadeh on early
Tuesday after Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri warned that Lebanese
troops would violate a long-honored ban and invade Ein Hilwe.
Hamadeh is believed to be the main suspect in the killing of three
members of Lebanese military intelligence during an operation outside Ein
Hilwe last week. Lebanese intelligence was monitoring the camp in an effort
to capture Hamadeh.
Hamadeh has been identified as a member of Usbat Ansar, a satellite
group of Al Qaida. Usbat is said to be based in Ein Hilwe, with an estimated
population of 75,000.
Palestinian sources said several groups that control Ein Hilwe
established a force of 150 gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades to
capture Hamadeh, said to have been sheltered by Usbat leader Mohammed
Shreidi. The force was led by the Fatah organization.
The sources said that at first Shreidi refused to hand over Hamadeh and
a nearby Fatah office was bombed. But hours later, with his home surrounded,
Hamadeh surrended.
The United States has warned Lebanon to act against Palestinians deemed
by Washington as terrorists. The U.S. pressure is said to have focused on
Ahmed Abdul Karim Saadi, head of Usbat Ansar, which appears on the State
Department's list of terrorist organizations. Saadi, also known as Abu
Mohjen, is linked to Hamadeh.
In an unrelated development, the United States has urged Israel to limit
air force reconnaissance flights over Lebanon. Diplomatic sources said the
State Department sent a message to Israel's government that termed such
flights, which included sonic booms over southern Lebanon or Beirut, as
provocative.
The U.S. message said Washington had urged both Lebanon and Syria to
restrain the Iranian-backed Hizbullah from attacking Israel. Hizbullah is
said to have 10,000 short-range rockets along the Israeli border.
